Stephen Vasciannie TODAY, I continue my review of the Examination Papers taken by students for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) in 2003. My suggestion, to date, has been that the papers on Communication Tasks, Mathematics, and Language Arts (English Language) for 2003 were reasonable tests for 11-year-old candidates.
I believe, too, that the Mathematics paper was slightly less demanding than that for Language Arts, but am prepared to concede that this could reflect personal bias. Some of the comprehension questions for Language Arts may need to be tightened up so that students who carry their personal interpretations to slightly vague questions will not be unduly penalised. Incidentally, I apologise for the grammatical error in the second paragraph of last week's column "None of these points mean that we cannot ask the straightforward question" mean should be means. This, I believe is the type of error that the GSAT will wish people to avoid in the future.
But though I believe the three papers reviewed so far are quite fair, I am slow to reach this conclusion for the GSAT Science Paper. The Science Paper is an innovation in the sense that it was not part of the old Common Entrance system. This, together with the fact that we are always well-placed when we argue that Science subjects should be "demystified", carried me to the Science paper with a positive spirit.
PRECISE
This spirit was, however, quickly undermined. Candidates were asked to attempt 60 multiple choice questions for this paper. Of the 60, the first 15 were mainly about biology, the next 20 or so were about physics, and the final 25 were largely a mixture of biology and physics. The questions were precise, and the multiple choice options lacked the type of ambiguity that is implicit in my criticism of the language arts paper. The problem with the Science paper, I believe, is that it was too difficult for the typical 11-year-old.
This, of course, is again a highly subjective conclusion, and there may well be students from various schools who have walked comprehensively over this paper (I am informed that this is so for at least one Preparatory School). And, to be sure, whether the paper is difficult will depend on the extent to which students have been exposed by their teachers, guardians or otherwise to the particular concepts tested. So, I should indicate my
yardstick.
I believe this paper is difficult because, following the GSAT, most of the candidates will not see these science concepts again (or will not develop their knowledge of them) until they enter Grade 9 at Secondary School. In other words, some of the concepts used in the GSAT are beyond the subject matter of the typical Grade 7 and 8 at some traditional high schools (and I presume, some non-traditional high schools).
But perhaps I exaggerate; so let us look at some of the questions. Question 1 requires the student to know that the green colouring in leaves is called chlorophyll. Question 2: "Which organism in the food chain below would get the least amount of energy? Plant Worm Bird Man?" (My guess: Man). Question 3 presents a diagram of a plant, and candidates are asked to identify, from one of four possibilities, where on the plant is a new leaf likely to emerge. Question 4 to 6 are based on a Table concerning animals and their features, which requires the ability to read the Table.
Question 7: "Lungs are to breathing as kidneys are to _________?" The options are excreting, feeding, growing, reproducing. (Excreting recommends itself). Question 8 is a diagram of a model of the arm using cardboard, rubber bands and a paper fastener. Candidates are asked to identify the part of the model correctly matched to a part of the arm. Question 9: "Where in the female's body does a baby normally develop? A. Ovary, B. Tubes, C. Vagina, D. Uterus". (The Uterus comes to one's lips).
Question 10 requires students to know which group of three plants store food in their roots only, with the options including carrot, sugar cane, onion, sweet potato, cassava, coco, irish potato, yam, ginger and onion. This is followed immediately by a question requiring students to list the rocks, sandstone, chalk, granite and marble in order from hardest to softest.
Have you reached a conclusion? Perhaps we should now look at Questions 17 to 19 from the physics section; these are, I believe, a fair reflection of the level of most of the questions in this section.
Question 17: "Which statement best describes the term weight: A. Force that opposes motion, B. Force that pulls objects towards the earth, C. Amount of material in an object, D. A measure of the pull of gravity on objects. The answer is D. Question 18: "Squeezing a sponge ball in the palm of the hand will affect its ________ A. Size, B. Mass, C. Texture, D. Weight. The answer is probably A, but perhaps C has a claim to our attention.
Question 19: "A nail with a wire wrapped around it and attached to two batteries is placed over some iron dust. What will happen to the iron dust? A. Attracted by the nail, B. Repelled by the nail, C. Melted by the current from the batteries. D. Scattered by the current passing through the wire?" Suggestions gratefully accepted.
FIAT LUX
Finally, for the last fifteen questions or so of the paper, if you have not mastered the properties of light, you will be in the dark. Here, the paper seems to place undue concentration on what must be one portion of the syllabus. Question 57: "Which colour is NOT seen in the spectrum?" Blue, pink, yellow or orange. Question 58: "Which surface would reflect the most light? "A. Snow, B. Soil, C. Grass, D. Water". Question 59: "Which material listed below acts as a mirror? A. a leaf, B. a piece of ice, C. a piece of paper, D. a piece of metal.
I take it that pink is not colour seen in the spectrum, and that a piece of metal may be used as a mirror. But, with reference to Question 58, I can only guess that the answer is "snow", a guess based on exposure that most Jamaican 11-year-old students do not yet have.
If we can ensure that the vast majority of our students can handle the foregoing at age 11, and build on this foundation of knowledge throughout secondary school, then we should have few difficulties with Science education in the future. My fear, though, is that the top preparatory and primary schools will be able to provide the necessary training, but other schools will trail behind, giving rise to a significant fear of the sciences for many at an early stage in their school careers.
If my fear is well-based, the Science paper could also help to exacerbate educational divisions along class lines. Middle class parents, armed with the latest textbooks and more than a modicum of exposure to science can supplement school-based instruction in science in a way that is not readily available to some other parents. The possibility that the Science paper could introduce an (additional) element of class bias into the examination system is a point that should be carefully monitored by the Ministry of Education.
As to Social Studies, I am forced to be brief... next week.
Stephen Vasciannie is Professor of International Law at the University of the West Indies.
